Personal New Year’s resolutions such as eating healthier or getting more exercise aren’t the only type you and your employees can make this year. In fact, professional development can soar when goals have an action plan. 2017 can be your best year yet with these tips for making use of the new year’s fresh start.
Professional Development Time
Professional development time shouldn’t be additional work hours. Making sure your employees have the time to actually achieve their goals is the first key step to setting them up for success. If that’s currently not the case, this is the perfect option for your management’s professional new year’s resolution. Plain and simply, professional development matters to your employees and therefore, it matters for making your business or nonprofit run successfully. Add a new member to the team, shift responsibilities, or cut out unnecessary services. Whatever route you take, making sure your employees have work time to grow professionally will only help you be more successful in the long run.
Prioritize
Okay, so now your employees have the time, but do they have the plan? Their goal for the year should be just that — a singular goal. Even though it can be tough narrowing it down to one, it is necessary to cut through the clutter and prioritize. What is one thing that they want to be better at? Have a passion for? Want to become an expert in? A manager should sit down with each employee to help them come to a decision. After that, the plan can be made.
Plan
A goal is nothing without a plan. Any goal worth having is the perfect combination of attainable and challenging. If it’s too easy, it won’t help you grow. If it’s too difficult, it will be too discouraging to complete. However, even the best goals aren’t reached without a strategy. After you and your employees discuss which goals they want to focus on, it’s time to brainstorm. Have your management and your employees come up with month goals separately. Then, have them come together to share and refine. Each monthly goal should be a little more difficult than the last. With this system in place, it helps your employees see how their goals can be met. Additionally, small monthly steps are the perfect opportunity to check in and help along the way.
The new year is the perfect time for a fresh start. Aiding your employees with reaching their professional goals will help them flourish, along with your business or nonprofit.
What goals are you most excited to achieve in the new year? We’d love to hear your take.
Posted in: Business Tips
